While most eyes are locked on the EWC and Riyadh Masters, Leon Masters, a European online Dota 2 tournament is surging with excitement after the conclusion of its first group stage. Due to the withdrawal of MOUZ and SIBE Team, technically every team advanced to the second group stage. What’s more there’s some very familiar names for those who follow Dota 2 esports closely, including the likes of Yellow Submarine and former Alliance stack Rest Farmers.
Nevertheless, the first group stage did give us a glimpse of which teams are dominating the Leon Masters #1. Notably, PSG Quest and Nemiga Gaming advanced to the Playoffs’ semifinals after placing top seeds. What’s fascinating is that both teams have not lost a single series yet, and may sweep the entire tournament undefeated. Here’s an overview of the action so far.
Leon Masters #1 predictions for Group Stage 2
Leon Masters #1 (Image credit: Leon.bet)
While the two top dogs await their semi-finals match-up, it’s all eyes on the Group Stage 2, where several worthy candidates for a late-tournament run.
Leon Masters Group A preview
Night Pulse, who are second only to Nemiga Gaming in Group Stage 1, continues to dominate the second stage. They’ve played with decent form, rallying around their hard carry, Alik “V-Tune” Vorobey. Yet, an emerging opponent in Group Stage 2 that can give Night Pulse a run for their money is Team Tea. Led by a veteran support player and captain, Akbar “SoNNeikO” Butaev is a tactical mastermind in terms of drafts and execution.
Although only the top two seeds will advance to the Playoffs, we will keep our eyes on Yellow Submarine as a wild card in this group. The Russian squad has been rather consistent and spent time together as a team for over a year now, so surely they could put up a decent fight. What’s more they’re taking on the mantle of the stack that eventually became two-time TI winners, Team Spirit. That means there’s plenty for Yellow Submarine to live up to!
Leon Masters Group B preview
Meanwhile, in Group B, no matches have begun yet. However, we would keep Twisted Minds (formerly Rest Farmers, formerly Alliance), L1GA TEAM, Dandelions, and DMS on our watchlist. Twisted Minds and L1GA TEAM performed exceptionally well in Group Stage 1, but we have yet to see Dandelions and DMS in action.
For one, these two teams have several notable mentions in their lineup, such as Nikita “Daxak” Kuzmin in DMS while Dandelions has Nikita “Palantimos” Grinkevich and Ivan “Kidaro” Bondarev. Additionally, Dandelions has a history of even going toe-to-toe versus L1GA and Nemiga in other tournaments.
As such, it wouldn’t be wise for PSG Quest and Nemiga Gaming to underestimate their upcoming opponents that advance into the Playoffs. The Leon Masters #1 features some of the best in left in Europe as the rest headed to Riyadh. As a result, we could be witnessing the emergence of potential rising stars in the region’s thriving Dota 2 Esports scene. Considering the Eastern European region only had Team Spirit as the sole representative that qualified by ESL Pro Tour Dota 2 Leaderboard. May the best team bag the lion’s share of the $100,000 prize pool.
